As big data buzzes louder and louder in the business world, I grow more and more worried. Numbers aren’t my thing. I’m guilty of using my fingers to add, my cellphone’s calculator to multiply and squinting when subtracting in my head. I hope you’d agree that I’m better with words.
Because of my own experience, when I came across research from the American Management Association, or AMA, that stated millennials have the least analytical acumen among all generations in the workforce, I wasn’t surprised. First, we have the least experience, and with experience comes acumen. Second, we already know the U.S. needs to develop a stronger workforce of experts in science, technology, engineering and math, so what’s the news?According to Robert G. Smith, senior vice president of AMA, despite their familiarity with technology, millennials aren’t seen as having equal analytics savvy. So there’s a disconnect — the first element of news. Second, Smith believes what’s really at issue here is an analytical mindset, which includes both quantitative and qualitative ability more than any specific number-crunching skill. In other words, employees need to know what to look for, what questions to ask, and how to make inferences and draw conclusions based on data to drive the organization forward. And these are skills millennials lack — the second piece of news. Yes, the numbers are important, but what we do with them is even more important, and our future leaders don’t seem to know what to do.
I interviewed Smith to find out what kind of analytical skills Gen Y is lacking and what learning leaders can do to help. It’s not too late to fix the problem, and never too early to start.
To read more, please visit:Â http://blog.clomedia.com/2013/10/millennials%E2%80%99-lack-of-analytical-acumen-could-hurt-you/?goback=%2Egde_35475_member_5795600513722503171#%21
By Ladan Nikravan, from:Â http://blog.clomedia.com/2013/10/millennials%E2%80%99-lack-of-analytical-acumen-could-hurt-you/?goback=%2Egde_35475_member_5795600513722503171#%21
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